Pavlov’s Dog: Pampered Menial

The early- to mid-1970s are littered with various species of obscure prog-rockers who released feted but now forgotten albums. One such band is St Louis’s Pavlov’s Dog, and one such album is their 1975 debut, Pampered Menial. While it’s most certainly of its time, there is still something incredibly strange and perversely compelling about David Surkamp’s vocals – at times his high vibrato is closer to a banshee’s wail than anything else. Of course, without the right backing music it could be a prog-rock freakshow, but what we have here is a frenetic quasi-classical vibe (virtuoso flourishes of piano, violin, mellotron and guitar) combined with very decent rock (Julia, Late November, Natchez Trace) and mind-bending mini-suites (Of Once and Future Kings). File in the rack titled “They Really Don’t Make Them Like This Anymore”. pavlovsdogband.tripod.com Download: Julia, Of Once and Future Kings